national security risk to the U.S. economy and defense.” His directive orders the De- partment of Commerce to in- vestigate the dangers posed by America’s overreliance on foreign suppliers, along with a candid assessment of Ameri- ca’s domestic mining and refin- ing capabilities. The United States currently


only has two rare earth min- ing sites, one in Mountain Pass, California, and one in southeast Georgia. Oklahoma boasts a growing processing and refining capacity as well. Savit called Trump’s order


“incredibly important” and a “huge deal” because it opens the door to freeing the mining sector from regulatory shackles, along with the direct, long-term federal funding that would be needed to liberate the United States from China’s rare earth cartel. A final report in response to


Trump’s directive is expected this fall. Japan may offer a useful mod-


el on how to break free from a Chinese rare earth addiction. In 2010, after Japanese au-


thorities arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that had smashed into two coast guard vessels near the disputed Senkaku Islands, China retaliated by weaponizing rare earths and slapping an embar- go on Japan, sending multiple Japanese indus- tries into an economic tailspin. Japan’s response — more efficient consump-


tion, recycling, and reuse of rare elements, and finding alternative supplies — slashed its reli-


ance on Chinese exports from 90% to 60%. That may hand the United States and other


nations a game plan on how to reduce their de- pendence. Japan’s experience proves it can be done, but


the United States faces one big hurdle to hopping off China’s rare earth bandwagon: a prolonged time lag for development. Considering the need for regulatory approv-


Japan’s response — more efficient consumption, recycling, and reuse of rare elements, and finding alternative supplies — slashed its reliance on Chinese exports from 90% to 60%.


42 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2025


GRAPHIC BY VISUAL CAPITALIST VIA GETTY IMAGES


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100